Demon Slayer might not be the first anime series one thinks of when considering high school shenanigans, but thanks to its odd new spinoff, now it can be.
Crunchyroll announced on February 14th that the Demon Slayer spinoff series, "Junior High and High School! Kimetsu Academy Story," would begin streaming on the anime platform immediately. Fans who just can't wait for Demon Slayer's third season to begin ought to be able to tide themselves over with this goofy take on the familiar characters of the series as they face a brand-new challenge: the life of a modern Japanese student. At present, the series is only available subtitled, with subtitles in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
A Demon Slayer High School AU
Kimetsu Academy Story isn't a conventional series, but more of a gag series set in what fans usually refer to as an "AU" or "Alternate Universe," a term used to describe unique takes on existing characters in new settings in fanfiction and spinoffs. The individual episodes are each only a few minutes long, centered on quick-paced jokes and wacky situations, and the series uses a simplified art style, akin to that of the after-episode segments in the main Demon Slayer series. While this might seem strange to some fans of the hit series, it's not the only example of a dark series getting a goofy spinoff. Rock Lee & His Ninja Pals strayed far from Naruto's mostly serious story. Perhaps the most infamous example though is Attack on Titan: Junior High which takes the incredibly dark series and turns it into a comedy.
Now, in Demon Slayer's high school spin-off, younger characters like Tanjiro, Nezuko, Inosuke (without his boar head mask!) and Zenitsu are depicted as students, while older characters such as the Hashira are teachers. Even some of the one-off demons get to make an appearance in the series as background characters. The episodes fall into two mini "arcs": the first "special edition" arc, which lasts 3 episodes, and a Valentine's Day-themed arc lasting 4 episodes, which was the prompt for releasing the series on February 14th. A Christmas episode also exists but doesn't appear to be available to stream on Crunchyroll at this time.
While no real substitute for season 3, Kimetsu Academy Story does offer fans a little more time with these beloved characters. And, given how rough life can be for Demon Slayer's heroes, it is nice to see them relax and have fun for a change. Fortunately, with the main Demon Slayer series set to return in April, fans don't need to wait too long to get back to the demon-slaying version of events, but for now, why not give this wacky high school AU a try?